Jury comment
Morris and Heath is a holistically considered interior, bringing high-end design to Melbourne’s western suburbs. The interior successfully creates its own moment, its own place, warm and comfortable with its disciplined palette of wood and strat-egically placed lighting. All is understated, nothing in this interior is extraneous, and it is one of the most remarkable outcomes seen among this year’s entrants. The timber panels and battens may not be an original idea, but they have been finely detailed and executed in this application, with such details as the “fingertip” scale of the battens giving tactility and a “must touch” aspect to the interior. The operable screen further multiplies the space – a detail that could have been omitted, but which would have diminished the pleasing complexity of the cafe’s spatial form. As the light changes over the course of the day, the screen is there to operate as a kind of veil. Overall, this is a deeply positive interior, timeless and anything but temporary.
Design statement
Morris and Heath, set in Hoppers Crossing on the outskirts of Melbourne, was driven by the need to create a place of refuge in contrast with the vast expansiveness of eucalyptus forests and precast concrete that surround the site. The project, developed out of a desire for greater human scale, seeks to create a destination for the surrounding suburbs. The project is contextualized in its use of spotted gum timber juxtaposed with milled steel and concrete. Timber battens veil the interior from an exhausting industrial landscape while reflecting the natural elements and giving relief to shoppers. Large spotted gum vertical battens form retractable doors that greet the customer upon entry and cast ephemeral elongated shadows across the pitted exposed aggregate concrete floor. Generous leather cushions drape over orthogonal furniture to form banquette seats that mirror the six-metre- long milled steel coffee counter and display.
Morris and Heath
13/24–48 Old Geelong Road
Hoppers Crossing Vic 3029
Ritz & Ghougassian
5/589 Malvern Road Toorak Vic 3142
info@ritzghougassian.com
ritzghougassian.com
See the whole gallery of images at the Eat Drink Design Awards website.
The 2017 Eat Drink Design Awards are organized by Architecture Media and AGM Publishing and supported by principal partner Taubmans; major partners Planned Cover and Shadowfax Wines; and supporting partners Tait, Stellar Works, Map, Schiavello, Laminex and Latitude.
Thanks also to our event partners Sample, Four Pillars Gin and Sanpellegrino.
The Eat Drink Design Awards are endorsed by the Australian Institute of Architects and the Design Institute of Australia.
